Google Shopping Ads

In order to get your products featured on Google Shopping, you will first need a Google Merchant account set up in the Merchant Center. This is a mandatory step required to have your shop, products, and product information into Google and make them available to shoppers across Google.

You will also need a primary product data feed, whether that is in a static format, such a Google Sheets file, or the list and file are dynamically updated like in the case of an XML file. Alternatively, if you have the appropriate structured data you could also get Google to crawl your website and retrieve the product data from there.

The feed will have mandatory and optional fields to tell Google about the products, for example, the item ID, name, brand, description, link, image link, price, etc. Once the product feed has been submitted and approved within the Merchant Centre, it is then linked to your Google Ads account.

Here you will be able to create a new Shopping campaign in Google Ads using the products from the data feed. From there it will be only a few additional steps to set up the campaign and get your products listed on Google Shopping.

Put your products in the spotlight and see the shoppers flocking through the virtual doors of your online shop. Shopping ads are like having your store, and its products, located on the best high-street, you can expect a high volume of footfall!

Google Shopping allows advertisers to drive sales online and in-store with ads that show near the search results on Google properties such as Google Search, Google Search partner sites and the Google Display Network. Similar to Google Ads, Google Shopping is based on a pay per click (PPC) model. Meaning advertisers must bid for the top spots on search results.

Google Shopping is not exactly a marketplace like eBay or Amazon where the whole interaction with the customer happens within the same platform, but it is more similar to retail CSE (Comparison Shopping Engines) like MyShopping.com.au, GetPrice, ShopBot or PriceGrabber. There, and on Google Shopping, a user running a search for running shoes, for example, will be presented with a number of brands and products and be able to compare by product and price.

If you are not that familiar with the above CSE, think about more specialist ones, like Finders.com.au or Mozo for credit cards, or Skyscanner and Kayak for flights. Google Shopping is exactly that, an ad platform that allows users to compare and choose directly from the search results page (at least in most cases), and then referring that user to the advertiser website to handle the transaction and complete the purchase, exactly the same way a click from search text ads in Google works.

However, there are some key differences between Google Search ads and Google Shopping ads.

First, is the visual factor of having an image showing alongside the title and price; these elements generally help to pre-qualify users as they select the products based on look and cost. Second, is that as the user is presented with a choice and can compare products, often Shopping Ads attract more price-sensitive customers.

And third, Shopping Ads attract customers with higher intent to purchase; although the option to compare also means that impression and click volumes can also be significantly higher than those from your normal Search campaigns, and it is not unusual for Shopping campaigns to have a lower click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate.

However, on average, the CPC (cost-per-click) for this type of campaign tends to be also much lower, meaning that when well run and optimised, Google Shopping ads can scale and have profitability, delivering a high volume of sales at a great ROI.

Google Shopping allows you to also send customers from your online ads in-store with local inventory ads. Attract nearby shoppers searching in Google, so when they click on your ad they will be sent to a page hosted by Google, showcasing your local inventory, the store details and hours, able to find directions and more crucial info to get them in.

If you run an eCommerce business, Google Shopping is the fuel you need to ignite your online sales. Shopping campaigns can truly generate an incredible volume of highly-qualified traffic straight to your product pages.

However, improving the performance of Google Shopping is not as simple as it might be for your normal Google Ads text campaign. To start, there are no keywords to target, so the first step lies in the optimisation of the feed itself, including the product title and description. This is where we can optimise for specific keywords.

Then you can add keywords, but just negative ones; so we can exclude showing for terms that underperform or are not relevant. And this is where a thorough, methodical and regular review of the search terms is particularly important to drive the best ROAS (Return On Ad Spend): since we cannot choose the keywords to target, reviewing and refining the list of negative keywords is key.

Amongst a few other things that can be done, are segmenting the list of items in the product feed into subsets that can be product categories or groups of items such as best performers for example.

The advantage of splitting the list into groups is that we can exclude or pause some, or we can have different bids for each group.

Other, more advanced optimisation options are done at the product feed level using rules, such as defining the title and product type using keywords.

Google Shopping ads are not your normal Google Ads campaign. They require a team technically skilled and experienced with the Google Merchant Centre to design, implement and manage successful Shopping campaigns.

Here are some reasons you may need to collaborate with a Google Shopping Ads agency.

Expertise and experience: Google Shopping Ads can be complex and time-consuming to manage, especially if you don’t have the in-house expertise. A Google Shopping Ads agency has the knowledge and experience to create, manage, and optimize your campaigns effectively.

Strategic campaign development and execution: A Google Shopping Ads agency can help you develop a comprehensive and strategic campaign that aligns with your overall business objectives. They will work with you to understand your target audience, your product offerings, and your sales goals.

Ongoing campaign management and optimization: Google Shopping Ads campaigns require ongoing monitoring and optimization to ensure they are performing effectively. This will take a lot of time and effort off your hands.

Access to specialised skills and resources: Google Shopping Ads agencies often have a team of specialists with expertise in various aspects of online advertising. This includes keyword researchers and advertising copywriters. This allows them to provide comprehensive and holistic guidance throughout your Google Shopping Ads campaign.

A good Google Shopping agency should have the following qualities:

• Experience: The Google shopping experts should have a proven track record of success in managing Google Shopping campaigns. Have a look at their case studies to see who they have worked with.
• Expertise: The agency should have a team of Google shopping experts that can create and optimise campaigns that meet your specific goals.
• Communication: The agency should be communicative and keep you updated on the progress of your campaigns.
• Transparency: The agency should be transparent about its fees and how it measures the success of your campaigns.
• Results: The agency should be able to deliver results that meet or exceed your expectations.

Here are some questions you might want to ask a potential google shopping ads agency:

• What is your process for developing and implementing a Google Shopping campaign?
• How do you measure the success of a Google Shopping campaign
• What is your approach to keyword research and optimization?
• How do you approach negative keywords?
• How do you track and manage your clients’ budgets?
• What is your process for making adjustments to Google Shopping campaigns?